Italian gas grid operator Snam, steel pipe maker Tenaris and green technology firm Tenova are trialing the use of hydrogen (H₂) fuel at a Tenaris steel plant in northern Italy in a bid to cut emissions, they said on Wednesday.

According to a joint statement from the groups, the trial to use H₂ fuel in a reheating furnace at the plant in Dalmine, near Bergamo, will last six months.

It will track the performance and reliability of using H₂ in the steel industry, the statement said, and is part of Snam's broader move to help industrial companies decarbonize.

H₂'s main byproduct as a fuel is water vapor, along with small amounts of nitrogen oxides, making it far less polluting than fossil fuels - assuming it does not cause further pollution via leaks.

Earlier in May, Italy, Germany and Austria signed a cooperation deal to develop a H₂ transportation network from the southern Mediterranean to northern Europe.